By Nawres Al-Shibani
Translated by Taif Alwachi
One of the kids began drawing his portrait, and bestowed it
with bright colors, childhood innocence, and the beauty of nature
surrounding him. He made it a speaking portrait, especially after he
wrote a phrase in Turkish at its center. I did not know it’s meaning
until his teacher translated it into English: “Leave my Hasankeyf.” He
knew as the rest of the people of this village know that the Turkish
government plans to immerse their village with water after the
construction of Ilisu dam.
The village of Hasankeyf is located in the southeast of
Turkey, in the province of Batman, which lies about 150 km from Zakho.
It is one of the old historical areas, the first date of settlement
there was recorded since 9500 B.C. where the Assyrians and Syriacs and
Arabs lived there as well as a Kurdish majority lives there today; the
Turkish government has declared it as a nature reserve in 1981.
Turkey started the construction
of the Ilisu dam on the Tigris River in 2006 and it is expected to
complete it in 2015. The dam will generate electric power with the
capacity of 1200 MW and control the flow of the Tigris River’s water.
The building of the dam is a controversial issue because Turkey will
flood the history of an entire village where the number of
archaeological sites discovered reaches nineteen, notably the Old Tigris
Bridge which was built in 1116 by the Artuqids, and the Zeynel shrine
where Zeynel Bey was buried on the other side of the Tigris River.
Zeynel Bey, the son of Uzun Hasan was the governor of the Akkoyunlu
breed that ruled Hasankeyf in the 15th century. There is also Imam
Abdullah shrine, which has a cube shape and it is located to the west of
the new bridge in Hasankeyf. Abdullah was the grandson of Imam Ja’far
al-Tayyar, the uncle of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and the
cemetery dates back to the 14th century.
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| Zeynel Bey Tomb, Hasankeyf Akkoyunlu, 15th century |
The impact of the dam goes beyond
Turkey to reach the marshes in the Chibayish district and the southern
part of Iraq in general, which derives its water from the Tigris River.
The dam will cause drought in this region and will eliminate its rich
biodiversity. Another impact will be the displacement of population to
other areas due to the elimination of livelihood sources. Not only that,
but it will also lead to the risk of drought on the Tigris River which
will force the Iraqi government to link branches from the Euphrates
River to the cities that are located on the Tigris River. This will lead
to lower water levels in the Euphrates River. In spite of all these
serious consequences that would affect the Iraqis; we have not seen a
serious attitude of the Iraqi government against the construction of the
dam.
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Many international and local civil society organizations
have collaborated and taken a position against the construction of the
dam, trying to save the people of Hasankeyf and its history in Turkey
and to save Iraqis people of the marshes in Iraq. ICSSI and Nature Iraq,
along with activists from the village of Hasankeyf, Iraq, Turkey and
other countries, have come together in a petition to make Hasankeyf a
UNESCO world heritage site and thus prevent the construction of the dam
and its flooding.
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| The old bridge and castle of Hasankeyf |
All these attempts as well as the case presented by the
Turkish Chamber of Engineers had a good result. On January 7, 2013 the
State Council in Turkey issued a judgment to stop the construction of
Ilisu dam as a result of the failure of the Turkish government to
provide a study of the environmental damage of the dam. But the last can
appeal within seven days or may resort to pass a new law to circumvent
the decision. For more information click here.
The latest event organized by these international
organizations was in the Chibaish marshes in Iraq. They organized a
colorful tour in the Central marshes attended by many Iraqi professional
photographers. This event was followed by the Hasankeyf Ingathering in
the village of Hasankeyf to introduce its history and how the damage of
its submerged with water not only affects the historical value of the
village, but also will affect the moral value of the population.
One of the activities in the Hasankeyf Ingathering was an art workshop
for the village’s children, which was facilitated by locals and
international friends of Hasankeyf. The paintings drawn by the Iraqi
children in Chibayish (90 km east of Nasiriyah) were side by side to
paintings of Hasankeyf children, which were varied in spring colors but
were similar in content. Drawing depicting water and the mountains point
to the children’s relations to the nature surrounding them. I can only
imagine what the children will draw later, after their region is turned
into a desert compared with marshes currently in southern Iraq or to a
submerged area by water compared to the natural beauty decorated with
caves in Hasankeyf village in Turkey.
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